-
Zenger Trial
A German-American printer, publisher, editor and journalist in New York City. He was a defendant in a landmark legal case in American jurisprudence that determined that truth was a defense against charges of libel and "laid the foundation for American press freedom." -
Albany Congress
The Albany Congress, also known as the Albany Conference and "The Conference of Albany" or "The Conference in Albany", was a meeting of representatives from seven of the thirteen British North American colonies in 1754 (specifically, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island) -
Seven Years War
War fought in Europe, North America, and India between 1756 and 1763, pitting France and its allies against Great Britain and its allies. -
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The formal end to British hostilities against France and Spain in February 1763 -
Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's War, Pontiac's Conspiracy, or Pontiac's Rebellion was a war that was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of elements of Native American tribes primarily from the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, and Ohio Country who were dissatisfied with British postwar policies in the Great Lakes region after the British victory in the French and Indian War (1754–1763) -
Sugar Act
Law passed in 1764 to raise revenue in the American colonies. It lowered the duty from 6 pence to 3 pence per gallon on foreign molasses imported into the colonies and increased the restrictions on colonial commerce. -
Stamp Act
Law passed by Parliament in 1765 to raise revenue in America by requiring taxed, stamped paper for legal documents, publications, and playing cards. -
Declaratory Act
Law passed by in 1776 to accompany repeal of the Samp Act that stated that Parliament had the auhority to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever." -
Repeal of Stamp Act
After four months of widespread protest in America, the British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, a taxation measure enacted to raise revenues for a standing British army in America. -
Boston Massacre
After months of increasing friction between townspeople and the British troops stationed in the city, on March 5, 1770, British troops fired on American civillians in Boston. -
Tea Act
Act of Parliament that permitted the East India Company to sell through agents in America without paying the duty customarily collected in Britain, thus reducing the retail price. -
Boston Tea Party
Incident that occurred on December 16, 1773, in which Bostonians, disguised as Indians, destroyed £10,000 worth of tea belonging to the British East India COmpany in order to prevent payment of the duty on it -
First Continental Congress
Meeting of delegates from most of the colonies held in 1774 in respone to the Coercive Acts. The Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, adopted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, and agrred to establish the Continental Association. -
Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge, near Boston -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun -
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States -
Olive Branch Petition
An attempt to avoid a full-blown war with Great Britain. The petition affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and entreated the king to prevent further conflict. -
Common Sense
Common sense is defined by Merriam-Webster as, "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts." Thus, "common sense" (in this view) equates to the knowledge and experience which most people already have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have. -
Virginia Declaration of Rights
The Virginia Declaration of Rights is a document drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to rebel against "inadequate" government -
Declaration of Independence
The document by which the Second Continental Congress announced and justified its decision to renounce the colonies' allegiance to the British government. -
Battle of Long Island
The first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the United States Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the entire conflict, and the first battle in which an army of the United States engaged, having declared itself a nation only the month before. -
Battle of Saratoga
Conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, 9 miles south of Saratoga, New York. -
Valley Forge
Area of Pennsylvania approximately twenty miles northwest of Philadelphia where general Geroge Washington's Continental troops were quartered from December 1777 to June 1778 while British forces accupied Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. -
Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom
A bill authored by Thomas Jefferson establishing religions freedom in Virginia. The Statute for Religious Freedom is one of only three accomplishments Jefferson instructed be put in his epitaph. It supported the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, and freedom of conscience. -
Ratification of Articles of Confederation
An agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. The Articles provided domestic and international legitimacy for the Continental Congress to direct the American Revolutionary War, conduct diplomacy with Europe and deal with territorial issues and Indian relations. -
Battle of Yorktown
A decisive victory by a combined force of American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis. It proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in North America, as the surrender by Cornwallis of his army prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict. -
Treaty of Paris (1783)
Ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on one side and the United States of America and its allies on the other. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
Act passed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation that created the grid system of surveys by which all subsequent public land was made available for sale. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Legislation that prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territories and provided the model for the incorporation of future territories into the union as co-equal states. -
George Washington Inauguration
The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of George Washington as President. John Adams had already taken office as Vice President since April 21. Sworn in by Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston during this first presidential inauguration, Washington became the first President of the United States following the ratification of the Constitution.
